Marissa Scavuzzo is a postdoctoral fellow in Paul Tesar’s lab at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. She received her bachelor’s degrees in neuroscience and biology before earning her doctorate in developmental biology from Baylor University College of Medicine. In the Tesar Lab, she is studying the network of nervous system cells inside your gut that has been referred to as “the second brain.” Using lab-grown organs to mimic the human intestine, Scavuzzo is mapping the impact of support cells called enteric glia across a wide range of conditions including autism. In the brain, glia regulate and protect neurons in many different ways and contribute to neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diseases, but their role in the gut is a new field. Her goal is to understand how enteric glia shift states in autism and how these cells respond to genetic, environmental and dietary changes. For this work, she has been awarded the HHMI Hanna H. Gray Fellowship, the New York Stem Cell Foundation Druckenmiller Fellowship and the Hartwell Foundation Fellowship. She has also served as an invited speaker at national and international venues.

Principal Investigator: Paul Tesar